EDWARD MOUNTAIN: The Courier produced 'chilling verdict' on SNP
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Two weeks ago the Inverness Courier produced one of the most damning front pages about SNP failures in recent years.
The image of a huge gravestone with the words: “R.I.P. SNP Promise of dualling A9 by 2025” was a chilling verdict on this Scottish Government.
After sixteen years in power, the SNP’s habit of making headline-grabbing announcements and then failing to deliver afterwards is beginning to catch up with them.
The failure to deliver the A9 dualling programme joins a long and lengthening list of other broken promises, many of them impacting the Highlands.
Highlanders were led to believe that by 2021 they would have R100 superfast broadband, HMP Highland, the National Treatment Centre – Highland, and two new ferries. It’s now 2023 and none of these key pieces of infrastructure have been delivered yet.
While the schedules for those projects have now been revised multiple times, the failure to deliver the A9 dualling programme by 2025 is seeing frustrations grow like never before. We are even beginning to see Highland SNP politicians speak out against their own party of government at last.
As an MSP who has held the SNP Government to account since I was elected, I am encouraged by these interventions and I personally welcome everyone who is campaigning to enhance our connectivity in the Highlands.
I support the calls for an inquiry into the failures to dual the A9 – we need to know exactly what went wrong and why there were so many years of inaction from 2007 onwards to deliver the project.
Indeed, Fergus Ewing MSP has so far identified seven key questions for an inquiry and I would add an eighth question to his list: did Highland SNP politicians, like Fergus Ewing, really do enough while in government or did they let the A9 programme slip without challenge?
It’s all very well calling for an inquiry and looking for someone else to blame, but if you were once a Cabinet Secretary of this SNP Government then you must also hold yourself accountable too.
It is clear that the Highlands is not getting the fair share of investment that it absolutely deserves and needs now. The A9 remains one of Scotland’s most dangerous roads and more lives are being putting at risk the longer the dualling project is delayed.
Safety on the A9 is not going to improve drastically unless the dualling works are completed in full - doing nothing is simply not an option.
I will be reminding the SNP of their responsibilities to deliver the A9 upgrades urgently at every opportunity and I will not rest until this project is finally delivered.
